TLDR;
- Click on this link to sign up for MASS membership (monthly peer review journal specifically for fitness topics) for $29 (monthly; cancel any time).
- Read the required content, take the test, and get your continuing ed credits.
- Keep your subscription (honestly, it’s one of the best fitness resources available, and I’ve been writing it off on my taxes for the last several years), OR cancel it without any hassle.
***Note: I put together a list of hundreds of ACE personal trainer approved courses, and organized them by cost per credit to help you find the best value (this may help you even if you aren’t an ACE trainer, as many of the courses are also approved for other organizations (NASM, ACSM, NSCA, etc). You can check it out here: Cheapest ACE Approved Courses
In this short guide, I’ll show you how you can knock out the majority of your PT CEU’s (or CEC’s…whatever your certifying organization is calling them) for just $29.
I’ve been a certified personal trainer for the last five years, and every time I have to renew my certification, I grow to hate the system a little more.
You studied hard, paid your dues, and earned your personal trainer certification from an accredited organization, and now, every two years, you have to fumble through a net of overpriced, sub-par quality, CEU cash grabs to maintain your good standing.
Note: this is nothing unique to the fitness industry. I’ve been in IT for 15 years, and it’s the same crap. My wife has been a music therapist for the better part of two decades…same crap. My sister’s a nurse…same crap. My friend is a CPA…same crap…somebody out there is making some serious bank with the same crap. Well, they’re gonna make just a little bit less this time around.
If you feel my pain, I think you’ll appreciate the following resource:
MASS Research Review (here’s my review…of the review if you’re interested).
MASS is a fantastic resource for personal trainers, coaches, strength sport athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Every month, they review the latest studies in fitness and nutrition in a very accessible and easily digestible format.
Of course, you probably don’t care what the source of CEU’s is. You just want to bang out your required credits and move on with your business. I respect that.
Follow the steps below, and you’ll be on your way.
Who is this for?
Before I get too carried away, I have to tell you, this guide isn’t for everybody. MASS, unfortunately, isn’t a recognized CEU provider for every PT organization (just the legitimate ones).
Here’s a quick list of the participating organizations, as well as what you get for your investment:
- NSCA: 3.5 CEU’s for completion.
- NASM: 1.9 CEU’s for completion.
- ACSM: 18 CEC’s for completion.
- ACE: 2.0 CEC’s for completion (not that you care, but ACE is who I have my certification with).
If your organization isn’t on the list, or you’re still in need of credits after you earn them from MASS, I recommend exerciseetc.com. They’re the second cheapest resource I’m aware of for continuing ed requirements (FYI, they don’t pay me to say that…I asked them if they would…they said, “no”).
If you aren’t picky on the courses you take (i.e., you’d be happy with a proverbial underwater basket weaving certification if it means you can be done), there’s no reason you can’t fulfill all your credits for under $99 between MASS and exerciseetc…and in case you’re new to the cert renewal game, $99 is beans compared to what you’d spend elsewhere.
What’s the catch?
No catch.
Actually, I guess there is a small catch. The $29 is for one month of access to MASS. It will continue a recurring charge every month if you don’t cancel your membership.
The good news is you can cancel anytime (seriously, it’s a totally painless process that can be completed in less than 2 minutes…you don’t even have to talk to anyone).
Having said that, I suppose it could be said that the catch is that you only have a month to complete the course before you get charged for a second month of access. However, it should also be noted that you could easily finish the whole thing on a dedicated Saturday afternoon.
Also, you honestly probably won’t want to cancel your membership due to the ridiculous amount of content you get (the CEU course is only a fractional part of what your $29 actually buys…more on that below).
I’ve literally gone through a dozen certification/continuing education processes in the last 10 years, and this is just as easy–if not easier–than anything else I’ve worked on (oh, and it’s actually pretty freakin’ interesting content!).
The gist is–and I’ll break this down further in a sec–you read the three issues of MASS, then take a 60-80 question quiz. The quiz is all multiple choice; it’s open book (and in PDF format, so feel free to search for most of the answers in the reading); take it at your own pace; retake it as many times as you need to.
What exactly will I learn from this CEU course?
The three issues average about 85 pages each (lots of pictures and videos too). I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to sell you a little on the publication itself (unlike exerciseetc.com, MASS does pay me an affiliate commission for every person I refer…but it’s a fantastic deal, so my conscience is clear).
Here’s a screen shot on some of the topics you’ll read about:
It should also be noted (and this is a pretty huge perk): The $29 you pay to get access to the CEU course, also gives you access to the rest of the site (which includes all of their backlog issues, audio roundtables, video presentations, etc), and their private Facebook group. You don’t get “credit” for all the other content, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy it’s there when you discover the value of it all.
Fine…I’m sold. What’s my next step?
At precisely 11:27:33 AM EST tomorrow morning, you’re going to receive a phone call from an unlisted phone number. The person on the other line will give you specific instructions to include the following in a black Adidas bag to be dropped off at the location he/she designates: One $20 bill (US), the code for 50,000 Bitcoin Satoshis written in crayon (burnt sienna) on an Applebee’s cocktail napkin, 12 pesos, and 17 commons from the Topps 1987 baseball card set (no duplicates). Once the package is received, your MASS user name and password will be mailed to you (UPS ground shipping) one character at a time every week for the next 11 months.
Of course, if you have other obligations tomorrow at 11:27:33 AM, you can just do the following:
Step 1:
Sign up for a MASS monthly membership (remember, you can cancel this whenever you want, once you finish the course). It’s $29/month normally, but every now and then they run specials. Sorry ahead of time if you get it cheaper…
Step 2:
Once your payment is confirmed, you’ll get an email with instructions to register your username and password to the site…look, at this point in your life, I’m sure you’ve signed up for a membership site before. You’re not going to have trouble with this step, so I’m not going to trouble myself with laying out the details. It’s straightforward.
Step 3:
When you sign into the site, click “Get CEUs” (or feel free to browse the rest of their content under “MASS subscription”).
Step 4:
Choose your organization from the list.
Step 5:
Download the three PDF issues and read them at your own pace. Or, if you’re a slacker like me, go straight to step 6 and look for the answers in the issues as you take the quiz (there’s no time limit, but you do need to finish it in one session).
Step 6
Take the 60-80 (depends on your certification) question, multiple choice quiz. The questions aren’t softballs, but it’s really not too bad. Plus–for the fiftieth time–it’s all open book.
Step 7
Receive your certification of completion from MASS and turn it into your certifying organization.
Step 8 (optional)
Cancel your MASS subscription. Again, I don’t think you’ll want to once you check out the rest of the site, but it’s an easy process if that’s what you decide.
Great. Thanks. Anything else?
Yeh, if you want to name one of your children after me, my name is Rob (Robert is fine, but make sure you tell them we prefer “Rob” when they’re older).
Have the best day of your life.
Once again, here’s the link to the MASS monthly sign up. Let me know if you have any questions.